What better way to #DiscoverTogether in October than to combine science learning with Halloween! Getting ready to carve pumpkins? That’s science! Talk with your kid about the chemistry of pumpkins. Planning a Halloween party? Try this family-friendly glow-in-the-dark JELL-O experiment and wow your guests with a very special treat. Have some extra dry ice sitting around? Make a spoon sing (really!) and learn about sound waves and gases.

Turning science into fun activities for Halloween is a terrific way to invest in your child’s future and is just how today’s classrooms are teaching science. Today’s Next Generation Science Standards are preparing our children for college and careers by shifting the focus from big textbooks and memorization, to instead encouraging all children to be inquisitive, active learners. As our former communications intern Rebekah Tom reminds us in her blog post, “Cultivating a love for learning and discovery will enable [children] to be more active in pursuing their passions and understanding their unique interests.”

So cultivate that love of learning by celebrating the season through discovery. Try exploring Fall leaf colors and chlorophyll or creating your very own rain cloud. Just be sure to take this moment to #DiscoverTogether.

PTA leaders: Make sure the families in your community get inspired to #DiscoverTogether! Download our Messaging Kit today by clicking the button below, and share the link with other PTA leaders.

Members of our Board of Managers have been busily working behind the scenes to produce fun videos of STEAM experiments they are doing with their families. These videos will be used as part of a STEAM Experience Program we are creating that you’ll be able to use to plan a (virtual) STEAM Experience event at your own school.

Look for information about the STEAM Experience in just a few weeks and check out this Marshmallow Play-Doh Experiment. We know you just can’t wait to get sticky!

The Resource Library has lots of great new content for fall. Check out these items aimed at helping parents undertake home-based experiments with their families in celebration of all things autumn!

• 7 Great and Fun Home Chemistry Experiments for Kids, from Interesting Engineering

• Oil Spill Experiment Video, from The Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology

• Halloween Science Experiments, by Science Bob

If you've never used the Resource Library before, why not give it a try? It's chock full of at-home learning activities, videos and documents that support the Next Generation Science Standards – and a whole lot more!

And the Resource Library is easy to use – the search function can help you quickly find what you need by keyword, category, topic, audience type, grade level, and language. Click here to browse.

Simply copy + paste the post below to your social media accounts, with your own photos:

Halloween and chemistry are a spooky combination! Doing science at home is fun. #DiscoverTogether #PTA4Kids https://capta.org/resource-library/